Natural Resource Management 26 Training and Exposure

Natural Resource Management
26
Training and Exposure Visits
28
Accounts & Finances
30
From the Heart
33
Experiences and Letters
36
Founder members
Managing Committee
Life members
Institutional members
Ordinary members
Aarohi’s village partners
Contributions for the year
Join us
At a glance
Aarohi products price list
appendices
41
AN OVERVIEW
Aarohi is a not for profit Society established in the year 1992 in the small village
of Satoli in District Nainital. The word Aarohi signifies ascendance or growth …
the growth of thought, creativity and harmony. The founding dream was to create a more
equitable society, provide opportunities for rural people in the Himalayas to lead a selfdependent existence, reduce poverty, and live in harmony with their environment.
A significant change has been brought about in these eighteen years, and there is still much to
be done. Satoli has become a node of positive thought and action which, to date, has
touched the lives of some 50,000 people spread over 100 villages in four of the thirteen
districts of Uttarakhand. Various issues of poverty have been addressed through inputs in
Health Care, Education, Livelihood, Forest Management, Drinking Water and Sanitation,
Watershed Management and Women's Development.
The organization has grown to a team of 69 full time staff and 279 members from all over
the world.
Oona, the founding spirit of Aarohi, left behind core directive principles and a passion for
work that continues to guide us even today.
Aarohi's path to ascendance saw a consolidation of processes last year. Global recession
gave us opportunity to reflect internally, look at other areas of work, think out of the box
and involve a larger number of people in our work in the Himalayas. Some 256 individuals
have made personal contributions to the tune of INR 1.54 million to sustain health and
education work. Total income for the year was INR 17.35 million while expenditure was
INR 7.87 million. The gap between income and expenditure is due to a major grant coming
through towards the end of the year.
The Aarohi Bal Sansar (ABS) expanded from class 7 to middle level (class 8) with a strength
of 134 children. The school was started to bring quality education to rural children and to
create a cadre of sensitive individuals that would act as positive change agents in their society.
1
The highpoint of academic achievement for the school this year was that all 10 children
from class 8 secured first divisions in the state held board examination. This is a record for
the area. Two children were selected on merit to the government sponsored Navodaya
Vidyalayas for free education and board. The same senior children, who displayed academic
brilliance, also had the distinction of performing in fund raising events. These performances
of Kumaoni folk songs and dances were held in Delhi, Faizabad and Lucknow. The
opportunity to be on stage professionally, appreciation by the audience and exposure to
three cities, did wonders to their confidence. Workshops on art, craft, science, English,
Mathematics, life-skills and astronomy, and interaction with many volunteers supplemented
classroom teaching and contributed to holistic development of the children at school.
The Room to Grow scholarship supported 59 girls this year to continue their education and
develop vocational and extra-curricular skills. In addition, Aarohi formulated a Scholarships
Program to cater to the educational as well as special needs of some children. Within this
program, the Ilya Scholarship, started in memory of a student of the school, gave 5 academic
scholarships to the best performing students from ABS and 5 more for those excelling in
extra curricular talents and attributes. The Bal Sansar Sponsorship program was initiated 2
years ago for students from economically needy families. It gave complete financial assistance
to 30 children to study at the ABS.
This year a new program named the Koormanchal Scholarships was initiated. The program
aims to bring support to academically bright children from ABS to get them to the
Koormanchal Academy, a high quality, English medium school in the neighbouring town of
Almora. This brings us nearer to our aim of providing equal access and opportunity for
education to children of mountain villages, as some of their urban counterparts.
Interventions in the Health program were aimed at promoting positive health and improving
access to ethically driven high quality services for people in the Himalayas. Towards this goal,
Aarohi has been working to create a model community based health care delivery system
with a focus on maternal and child care. We are happy to report that in 6 of the 10 intervention
villages there have been no maternal deaths for the past 4 years. In addition a 100 percent
primary immunisation rate was achieved.
2
With the start of the second phase of intervention in 24 more villages, the health coverage
would reach close to 15,000 people. There would be intense concentration on enhancing
capacities of village communities, increasing their sensitivity to gender issues impacting health
of women and rights due to them by the public sector. The cottage hospital, with modern
diagnostic equipment and services of top specialists from all over the country, has become a
unique rural hospital in the region. A total of around 4,000 patients benefited through the
hospital, camp and outreach services.
The Apricot and Herbs Initiatives, were merged to form the Livelihood Promotion Program.
This program was initiated to bring supplementary income to farmers and produce high
quality natural products from the Himalayas for urban consumers. Demand for natural
apricot oil and allied body care products, as well as distinctive culinary herbs continued to
grow. Sale of products increased from INR 2.16 million to INR 2.84 million. An estimated
945 producers and local people benefited to the tune of INR 1.15 million against procurement
of herbs, nuts and kernels, processing job work and wages amounting to 40% of total sales.
The Grameen Himalayan Haat, an annual autumnal event, was inaugurated by Mrs. Margaret
Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand. This is a forum for local farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs
and artists to sell their wares and produce and present folk cultural events. As usual, it was a
crowd puller.
The General Gurbir Mansingh Van Panchayat award for the best managed forest was given
to the village of Tanda as a first prize and the village of Bhayalgaon as a second prize this
year. This incentive has perpetuated the debate on forests, and maintained some vital processes
for independent community management of forests, which are vital for life in the Himalayas.
Members of Aarohi Schweiz, particularly, supported fund raising during a global financial
crisis. Many organisational systems are being put into place. The year ahead will see the
induction of new people at the management level along with expansion to newer and needier
areas in the mountains.
3
Activities at a glance
PARTICULARS
No. of villages where Aarohi works
2007 - 2008
2008 - 2009
2009 - 2010
74
65
61
398
121
195
4,741
3,859
2,497
Women
2,578
2,183
1,391
Men
2,163
1,676
1,106
1.2:1
1.3:1
1:1.2
Money in samiti* a/cs (INR)
3,78,299
1,30,554
2,99,690
Total money utilized by samitis (INR)
2,02,417
50,828
24,694
Total no. of patients seen (Hospital + camps)
4.280
3,503
3,959
Sale of bodycare products (INR lakhs **)
15.94
17.51
Sale of herb products (INR lakhs)
3.40
4.10
Children at the Aarohi Bal Sansar
80
123
134
233
225
278
49
54
69
Grants and Income (INR lakhs)
107.92
88.09
173.53
Expenditure (INR lakhs)
113.20
82.45
78.60
No. of meetings held
Total attendance
Women: Men ratio
Aarohi members
Aarohi workers
}
28.44
* Samiti is a village committee
** Ten lakhs is equivalent to one million
4
EDUCATION
Aarohi Bal Sansar
`Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? Is it merely in order to pass some
examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are
young to understand the whole process of life? Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation;
life is something extraordinarily wide and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which
we function as human beings.'
J. Krishnamurti
Alternative schooling is now a major trend in India and efforts are on even in remote
villages to explore possibilities for holistic and meaningful education for children
raised in a rural environment. Set up as such a space in the mountain village of
Peora, Aarohi Bal Sansar is a middle school which had 134 children (55 girls and 79
boys) on roll this year, coming from 10 villages in a radius of 7 kilometers from the
school. Enrolment in the school continues to increase year after year (80 in 2007,
123 in 2008), a strong pointer to the fact that parents desire quality education for
their children even though it comes at a cost, albeit subsidized.
Students are encouraged to experience life in all its aspects - the sensory and spatial,
emotional and social, intellectual and spiritual. The endeavor is to develop them
not only as individuals who would dare to dream and have the ability to face
challenges thrown at them in the course of life,
but also as sensitive and caring human beings
who can add value to society.
Vision : 'Holistic development of
personality in a joyful environment''
The mission states that `Aarohi Bal Sansar will
nurture its students for holistic development of
personality in a loving environment using appropriate
curriculum, creative teaching methodologies and
sufficient infrastructural resources'.
5
This year several steps were taken towards consolidating delivery of quality education
and the results became visible in a variety of ways. An important ingredient in this
regard is the teacher student ratio, which after taking on board 3 additional trained
teachers, became 1 : 10. Systems for drawing up annual teaching and lesson plans,
augmenting and using supplementary learning material, and explaining scientific
concepts through experiments were strengthened.
Teachers were exposed to trainings, both in house and outside the region, leading to
capacity enhancement in understanding child behavior and innovative teaching
methodologies. Inputs from volunteers brought in a lot of excitement and new activities,
adding zest as always to the whole process of interactive learning in the school.
Two students, Tanuja and Madhav, were successful this year in qualifying the test
and gaining admission in the much sought after central and state government
sponsored Navodaya Vidyalayas, which offer subsidized residential schooling till
class 12.
The first batch of class 8 students passed out of Aarohi Bal Sansar after giving the
state held board examination. All ten of them proved their merit by securing first
division marks. These students, along with a few from class 7, presented mesmerizing
folk songs and dances as an integral part of the fund raising shows taken to Delhi,
Lucknow and Faizabad depicting life in rural Kumaon and how Aarohi engages
with it. The funds collected through these events were to the tune of INR 1.28
million for the support of education activities for a year. Seeing the first batch of
class 8 students graduate from the school gives us a sense of pride at the confidence
these children have gained in facing the challenges that life will have to offer.
A program for providing nutritional supplement to children thrice a week is in place
and regular medical checkups were carried out to monitor health and growth of the
children with special emphasis on nutrition and dental care. Educational inputs for
hygiene and health are also a regular feature.
6
Resources at the Aarohi Bal Sansar and the larger education program of Aarohi
benefit an additional 1000 children from 30 government schools through health and
environmental education, computer literacy, English language learning, sports,
educational tours, Bal Mela (children's fair) and preservation of Kumaoni culture
and heritage activities.
Scholarship Programs
Scholarships for girls
Aarohi successfully completed five
years of association with Room to Read,
a program that aims at encouraging girls
to attend school on a continuing basis,
till at least class 12. The selection
criterion was based on financial need
and minimum academic levels.
A total of 59 girls were supported by
the program this year: 15 from Aarohi
Bal Sansar and 44 from six government
schools.
In addition to sponsoring the school
fee, uniform, books & stationery, the
program aspires to expand the girl's
comprehension of their capacities and
possibilities for the future through
vocational and life skills training,
educational tours and skill development
workshops.
My name is Kanaklata
and I study in class 10.
I live in Diyari village
with my mother and three
sisters. My father had
been ill for a long time
and as he could not
receive proper medical
attention he died a few
months ago.
My mother, Lalita Devi, works in other people's
houses and farms to support us. The Room to
Read scholarship has proved beneficial to me
in many ways.
I have been able to pursue my studies because
of the material support given through school
fees, books and stationery and uniforms. This
is something my mother could not afford.
Through this scholarship I have been able to
learn computers, art and craft, cooking and
also step out of my village to visit many places
with friends. I am really happy to be part of
this program for the last four years and hope
to build a good future for myself.
7
Life skills training has become a major focus under this program and is proving
helpful in addressing social issues, resolving adolescence related problems and
enhancing self esteem and confidence.
Bal Sansar Sponsorship
The Bal Sansar Sponsorship program
was able to add 20 more students this
year, taking the total number of
recipients to 30. The program aims to
provide financial support to families
desiring education for their children at
Aarohi Bal Sansar, but lacking the means
to do so. The sponsorship includes
tuition fee, uniforms, books and
stationery, basic medical care and
nutritional supplement.
Selection of children is done every year
through a committee with representation
of teachers, members of the community
and Aarohi management. Criteria for
selection include economic hardship,
child with single parent and child with
parent having disability.
An evaluation of the program at the end
of this school year has revealed
significant academic and all round
improvement in the children, besides
giving financial relief to parents.
She was still learning to walk and had begun
to tread outside the house when Pooja's
mother passed away leaving her with her
father and little brother. She lives with her
uncle's family in Peora village as her father's
job as a driver keeps him away most of the
time. They all live in a house, which though
small in size, is kept very neat and tidy.
Pooja was in class1 when she was awarded
the sponsorship based on family
circumstances and her father's desire to give
her good education. She is very enthusiastic
about coming to school and is a regular
student. With talent and love for Kumaoni
folk song and dance, and an extrovert nature,
she has also done well in studies and moved
on to Class 3.
Pooja with her aunt
8
Ilya Scholarship
The Ilya Scholarship was started in memory of Ilya, a student of Aarohi Bal Sansar,
through contributions from family and friends in 1997. Returns earned from the
corpus built over the years have enabled children to pursue their interests as well as
broaden their horizons by travelling to different parts of the country. Over the last
three years a formal policy for utilization of funds has been developed. This gives
ten scholarships to students from Aarohi Bal Sansar every year, five for academic
and five for non academic talent. One scholarship is held in reserve for a deserving
candidate from the region to give a special fillip to pursue higher studies.
This year, five students from classes 4 to 8 were awarded scholarships for academic
merit. Five more students from the same classes were given extracurricular
scholarships for special attributes like confidence, creative talent, curiosity, wit and
talent for music to encourage a holistic development of personality. The scholarships
amounted to INR 1000 each and children were given general awareness books,
puzzles, games and art & crafts material.
Koormanchal Scholarship
The academic year 2009-10 saw the first batch of class 8 students pass out from
Aarohi Bal Sansar. Their future normally would be to join the government school
system till class 12, where the quality of education is quite inadequate. If a few of
these academically brighter students are given better schooling opportunity they
may succeed in joining the mainstream of our country.
9
The Koormanchal Academy, Almora, has given admission to three students in this
academic year, where they have switched to English as a medium of instruction and
would hopefully be able to complete Class 12 from this school. The total cost for
first year is approximately Rs.50,000/- per child and Rs.40,000/- per year per child
for the following years. The parents are contributing their share as per capacity.
This will be a continuing program and the organization is building a fund to meet
this need.
Koormanchal Scholars (from left to right) : Himanshu, Rohit & Mukesh
Other Educational Activities and Events
Various workshops on art & craft, soft toy making, bead jewelry, dance and
music, cooking, Science and English were held for children of the ABS and
government schools.
During a 6 week volunteering stint, Henriette Moneger from France spent time
with children across different ages building a higher level of comfort with English
using poems and rhymes song and dance, drama and story telling, art and craft,
as effective media for learning. Jayant Phalke from Vigyanvahini, Pune, and
Samar Bagchi, previously associated with Birla Science & Industrial Museum,
10
Kolkata, conducted sessions on Science teaching with students and teachers at
ABS, imparting skills on how to simplify the understanding of concepts and
make science interesting.
Saleem, a talented young choreographer, nurtured at Salaam Balak Trust, Delhi,
did a fortnight long dance workshop with students of class 7 and 8 at Aarohi
Bal Sansar. The children learnt a lot from this training by way of creative
movement, expression, presence and energy on stage, and above all the important
lesson on how practice leads to perfection.
The Kumaon Chapter of Spic Macay, a society dedicated to promotion of Indian
classical music and culture amongst youth, brought lecture cum demonstration
programs on Kathak by Guru Shovana Narayan and Flute recital by Pandit
Ronu Majumdar. It was a treat and a great learning for both students and adults
to experience and understand the art practiced by these internationally renowned
artists.
Educational Tours/Adventure Treks: Students of class 5 and Room to Read
scholars went for an excursion to the ancient Jageshwar temples, known for
their historical and cultural importance. The senior Room to Read scholars visited
Avani, a grassroots organization working in Pithoragarh district, and learnt about
natural yarns and dyes, hand spinning and weaving, solar energy applications
and production of electricity from pine needles though a gasifier. Nine young
boys and girls went for a week long adventure trek to Pindar Glacier in the
month of June 2009. These excursions are an invaluable adjunct to learning and
experiencing the world outside their framework.
Cluster level sports and cultural rally took place in the month of August 2009 at
Aarohi Bal Sansar sports ground with participation of around 250 children from
various schools. Events organized included track events, high jump, long jump,
kabaddi, kho-kho, tug-o-war, and cultural competitions.
11
Children's day was celebrated on 14th November (Nehru's birthday), with games
and distribution of puzzles & toys donated by Toybank, Mumbai. The toys
were presented to the children based on their interest and dreams.
Computer classes continue to be held for students of classes 3 to 8 at Bal Sansar.
The facility also benefits youth of the area and short computer literacy courses
were attended by 31 girls, 17 boys and 3 women, where they learnt MS Office
package, multimedia and internet. A few also picked up basic skills relating to
desk top publication.
12
Mamta
'As long as I live, the name of Aarohi will remain on
my lips and it will always be a special place for me.'
Such are the sentiments that Mamta carries in her heart
for her alma mater, Aarohi Bal Sansar. Passing out from
the school after finishing Class 8 (and topping the list in
academic performance) she writes about the unique and
enriching experience she had along with her peers during
fund raising events at Delhi, Lucknow and Faizabad.
‘While studying in this school I also learnt Kumaoni folk
song and dance. Our performances in school events and
Grameen Himalayan Haat were appreciated and we felt
encouraged. It was then decided to raise funds for running
our school through events in big cities. A presentation
was prepared showing life in our villages and the work of
Aarohi, with song and dances in between. We all worked
very hard as a team on this and the presentations were
highly appreciated by the viewers. We felt proud and happy
in presenting our culture to city people. In the beginning
we were nervous but the success of one program increased
our confidence and enthusiasm.
During the course of visits to these different places we got
the opportunity to see many historical monuments, like
Qutub Minar, Birla Mandir, India Gate, Humayun's Tomb,
Lotus Temple in Delhi, Bara Imambara in Lucknow, the
King's palace, temples and Guptar Ghat in Faiazabad and Ayodhya. It was a lot of fun
travelling on the Metro and taking those scary rides in World of Wonder… seeing a movie in
a big hall and shopping in the mall.’
My friends and I had never had so much fun and being together was the best part. I can only
say that we would always remember our school days and this experience of our life even when
we get separated and live our lives in different places.’
13
HEALTH
The program aims to increase access to ethically driven quality healthcare
and promoting positive health seeking behaviour amongst the community. Within
these, the reduction of maternal and child morbidity and mortality have been the
primary focus. For the last eighteen years, the health program has worked to achieve
these goals by training village level health workers and traditional birth attendants,
raising levels of awareness of critical health issues with women's groups, adolescents
and children, and providing hospital and outpatient care. With better communication
and transport facilities, and a greater impetus by the government, health care in the
region is steadily improving.
Community Health
Aarohi's effort to create a model community based health care delivery system ended
its first three year phase in late 2008. The village health workers, who have minimal
formal education, have learnt first aid for common medical problems like fevers,
diarrhea, cough and cold, injuries, burns and bites, as well as provision of essential
mother and child care. Most now conduct antenatal care, ensure that the government
ANM (Auxilairy Nurse Midwife) administers immunizations, and encourage pregnant
mothers to seek ultrasonic investigation.
Achievements have been complete primary immunization for children between 1223 months and no maternal deaths in ten intervention villages with a population of
3,000 people in the past four years. (The rate for complete immunization taken
between the ages of 12-23 months in Uttarakhand in comparison is 62.9% according
to the District Level Household Survey-3 of the Government of India 2007-2008).
While it is difficult to evaluate the significance of intervention on Maternal Mortality
Rate (MMR) because of the small sample population, it might be of interest to
14
mention that in India the figure taken by the Sample Registration System is at 254
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and in Uttarakhand it is 440 deaths per
100,000 live births (2004-2006)).
The expanded second phase, begun early this year, involves 24 villages in the remote
Okhalkanda block of Nainital district. Also, 6 villages from the first phase in Ramgarh
block will be guided through a phasing out process. This second phase would impact
some 15,000 people, and in the first two months of the project village and health
worker selection and training of trainers has begun.
Despite the introduction of Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY), a government scheme
that offers financial incentive for hospital delivery, the trend of home deliveries
continues, with 71% of deliveries conducted by TBAs (Traditional Birth Attendants).
Training of the TBA continues to be an important initiative of the community health
program.
Exploratory visits have been made to very remote mountain villages close to the
greater Himalayas that are 20 - 30 km away from the road-head and still do not
have electricity or access to telephonic communication. Four medical camps in these
villages have brought out the enormity of health issues for the people of this region.
Aarohi has a commitment to conduct six-monthly medical camps in the region and
through the process, foster programs for sustained health care and other development
interventions.
Curative Services
The upgraded facilities at this Himalayan cottage hospital have made
this centre function in a better manner as a first referral point for some 40 villages
in Ramgarh Block. Imaging, diagnostic and curative capabilities at the hospital
continue to improve with the recent additions of a semi-auto analyzer, defibrillator,
15
and infusion pumps. Ultrasound examinations of pregnant mothers have also been
conducted to provide better maternal care. In addition, regular diagnostic and surgical
camps for Gynaecology, ENT, Eye, Reconstructive Surgery and Dentistry have gone
a long way to decrease general morbidity and improve the quality of life for the
local population. All services benefited around 4,000 people.
Since the opening of the Operation Theatre in September 2006 till March 2010, 44
specialist camps were held including Gynaecology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Plastic
Surgery, Dentistry and Radiology. 2,786 patients have been screened and 207 surgeries
have been conducted. A total of 934 dental screenings were done in 18 dental
camps in the same period, with 282 dental extractions and 174 dental fillings
provided. This utilisation of the newly constructed facilities has brought immense
relief to the people of the region.
In the context of rural Himalayan villages, the hospital is providing high quality and
modern care that is not to be found in the region, in the domain of the public or
private sector health care providers.
The healing of Bhuwan (L to R) non healing wound of six months; skin grafting by Dr. Raju Usgaocar at
Plastic Surgery Camp at Satoli; Bhuwan fully healed.
16
at a glance...
PARTICULARS
07-08
08-09
09-10
2070
1903
2012
Female
750
763
902
Male
996
919
952
Children < 5 years
171
119
157
Patients treated by Proxy
154
88
1
Inpatients treated
65
102
51
Home visits / Emergencies
10
11
5
491
328
296
X Ray done
91
101
113
Total villages covered
40
45
50
396
242
59*
30
30
7
3
6
6
Dental screenings for school children
105
240
126
Total dental screenings
160
353
300
35
107
109
No of dental fillings done
7
110
53
Other specialists camps
9
15
17
1,089
940
709
88
88
40**
9
3
7
565
75
579
No of outpatients
Laboratory test done
School children screened for health problems
No of schools covered
No of dental camps held
No of total dental extractions done
Total patients treated in the specialist camps
Total surgeries done in the camps
Mobile health camps
No of patients seen in mobile health camps
* Formal intervention in 29 Govt. Schools was reduced due to financial constraints
** The drop in surgery is largely due to achievement of completion of backlog of cataract operations
17
I am 18 months old now but don't have a voice of
my own. Yesterday was the first day I cried and the
first day I turned in bed on my own. My mother wasn't
ready to have me as she was only 14 when I was
born. She was married at thirteen and never had any
formal education. My father is probably angry that
God sent him a daughter. He wants mother to cook
food, collect water and take care of the cows. I was
very sick when I was brought to the Aarohi hospital
3 days ago. I have stayed here at Aarohi, thanks to
those at the hospital who keep fighting to keep me there against my father’s and grandfather's
wishes.
I haven't eaten solid food ever and have been given very little milk though I never make fuss
for eating. I am particularly thankful to Dr Aunty who gives me so much love and made this
special formula for me (it's really very tasty). I get tired while drinking so I have this tube that
goes into my stomach and feeds me. I have sores all over my body which are now getting
better. My mother has also begun looking after me better after she has been taught how to
care for me. Now I don't have to sleep in
dirty nappies and she bathes me every
day.
I know I may not be able to stay in
hospital for too long though Dr Aunty has
said it will take 3 weeks or more of tender
loving care to bring me back to health. I
may not make it back to hospital after
tomorrow when father takes me home. I
pray that my mother and father do not
do this to my brother or sister who will
soon be born…and give her/ him a better
chance at life!!
Doctor Aunty with Komal
Written for Komal by Dr Rohit Nair
18
LIVELIHOOD PROMOTION PROGRAM
Activities under this program were earlier bifurcated as the Apricot
Growers' Enterprise and the Herb Growers' Enterprise. It was decided to merge the
activities, personnel and accounts involved with these different initiatives into one
program, called the Livelihood Promotion Program, so as to leverage cross unit
capabilities and experience, develop entrepreneurial spirit and broaden the horizons
of people employed by this program.
Aarohi's efforts in these past 15 years, both in promoting cultivation of indigenous
and European herbs and introducing apricot oil and allied body care products, have
achieved commendable success in terms of commercial viability, quality and growth.
The model has been replicated by civil society organizations, small businesses across
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, bringing supplementary income to hundreds of
marginalized rural families in these mountain states.
This year the program recorded combined sales of INR 28.44 lakhs, an increase of
32% over sales of previous year. While sales of body care products at INR 23.74
lakhs registered a growth of 36% over last year, those of herbs and fragrances were
INR 4.70 lakhs showing an increase of 15%. The growth was assisted by endeavors
of Himjoli Products Pvt. Ltd, a social venture marketing company launched this
year by Pankaj Wadhwa and his team. Four exclusive 'Himjoli' stores were opened
in Kumaon and products placed in several retail outlets across Delhi (NCR) and
Mumbai, where natural, hand crafted products of different NGOs and artisans are
showcased, bringing high quality produce of the Himalayas to discerning consumers.
A concerted and continuing effort is on to drive producer groups to scale up and
innovate, impacting enterprise and livelihoods promotion in the region.
Total benefits to farmers and local people against procurement of herbs, nuts and,
kernels, processing job work and wages amounted to INR 11.46 lakhs or 40% of
19
total sales. Surpluses after meeting other costs of production and sales are built as
reserves for ploughing back in the business and funding other welfare related
programs of the organization.
The challenges that the program needs to address in the coming year are a) bringing
on board a young management professional b) incorporating requirements for ebusiness transactions through the organization website and c) expanding existing
range of products by introducing new products / variants.
Fifteen years with Aarohi…
"Although he never went to school, my father worked as an office peon with the Indian
Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteshwar and believed in educating his children. I had the
good fortune of studying for a graduation degree, but remained engaged with agriculture and
horticulture with my elder brother. In the year 1993, when I was 37 years old, I joined Aarohi
and was entrusted with the job of collecting apricot nuts, which was, at that time a product
that had little value. It was a time when Aarohi was a new organisation and there were not
many of us, but the spirit was that of pioneers. My colleague Gopi and I walked in the
villages, over a radius of 15 kms and succeeded in procuring a good quantity of nuts. These
were sent to Delhi for extraction of Apricot Oil. That year I took two bottles of the oil to Tara
General Store, Almora for test marketing".
Pramod Singh Bisht, Manager - Livelihood Promotion Program
Pramod is happy with the turn his life had taken in 1993, and is satisfied to see his four
children settled in their jobs and lives after completing their education. Work at Aarohi gave
him opportunity to travel across the length and breadth of the country, and helped him develop
as a mature person, which in turn influenced the atmosphere in his house bringing openness
and the shedding of certain needless rituals that the family was bound to.
20
Young farmer of Satoli
Neeraj Kabdwal, a nineteen year old lad,
who got introduced to herb cultivation in
2006, is now one of the major suppliers of
fresh and dried herbs. From a family
engaged in fruit and vegetable farming, he
has been successful in growing Basil,
Oregano and Chamomile and was able to
supplement his farm income by around INR
6000/- this year through sale of these herbs.
'I have been able to continue my education
(reappeared for 10th board examination)
with the help of this money and don't have
to depend on my parents. And this makes
me feel proud of myself. Learning from me,
my cousins in the neighborhood are also
taking up this activity. I wish this program
more success in future'.
Champa & Prema
Coming from nearby homesteads, these
women help with processing activities at the
production unit. Like many others, they did
not have the privilege of going to school
and were married at a very young age.
Poverty and lack of education led to giving
birth to many children and they now have
large families to support. As daily wage
earners their husbands are not able to
guarantee either a steady income or a
sufficient one. Sorting of apricot kernels this
year was a source of income for these
women, and this has made them happy as
it supplements the family earning by around
INR 5000 per annum and serves to meet
some of their personal needs.
Neeraj in a field of Chamomile flowers
21
at a glance...
PARTICULARS
2007- 2008
2008-09
2009-10
Production and processing
Total producer beneficiaries
740
873
934
61
142
151
2
2
2
Apricot nuts purchased (quintals)
14
87
19
Apricot kernels purchased (quintals)
21
15
22
Apricot kernels processed (quintals)
30
28
74
115
191
230
189,626
315,000
291,895
6
6
9
23,531
33,000
89,810
5
6
8
Total sale of products (INR, lakhs)
19.35
21.61
28.44
Sale of body care products (INR, lakhs)
15.95
17.51
23.74
Sale of herbs & fragrances (INR, lakhs)
3.40
4.10
4.70
Sale of products in Uttarakhand (INR, lakhs)
8.38
10.13
16.44
10.97
11.48
12.00
No. of outlets in India
55
60
75
No. of cities/ towns through which marketed
27
27
32
8
8
10
No. of villages of procurement
No. of village samitis involved in procurement
Total quantity of dry herbs purchased ( kg)
Benefit to farmers-purchase of apricot nuts/
kernels/herbs (INR)
No. of families benefited from processing activities
Benefit to farmers through processing (INR)
Marketing
No. of products
Sale of products outside Uttarakhand (INR, lakhs)
No. of exhibitions attended
22
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
A medicinal herb as well as a sweet, pungent culinary seasoning, basil is native to India, but
is now grown in temperate regions all over the world. Its common name comes from the Greek
word 'basilikon', which means royal, perhaps because it was prized as a king among herbs.
Widely used in Italian cuisine, particularly in tomato - based dishes, Basil also complements
many other foods, including meat, poultry, salads and soups. This is fortunate because besides enhancing the flavor of foods, basil also aids digestion.
In past centuries, the plant was accorded wide respect for its healing potential and was used to
purify the mind, open the heart and even cure malaria. Today, herbalists recommend basil as
an antispasmodic, and use it to treat intestinal problems, motion sickness, flatulence and
nausea. It also provides relief from respiratory diseases.
Basil is easy to grow, and not only does the sweet herb purify the air, it also drives away flies
and mosquitoes, which shun its scent.
Source: The Complete Guide to Natural Healing, Reader's Digest
23
Words of appreciation by fans of Aarohi products
Today is a very lucky day….. I found the best oil on earth again. I have used it for years and then
lost track of Aarohi. This is the only real apricot oil!
Maud Hallin, San Francisco, USA, Dastkar Basant Bazaar, New Delhi
I am an ardent and devoted customer of Aarohi and love their products which are excellent.
Mumtaz Khan, Dastkar Basant Bazaar, New Delhi
Apricot oil is wonderful!
Brigitte Singh, Dastkar Basant Bazaar, New Delhi
We use apricot scrub soap regularly and skin has improved very much.
Purvi Yadav, Mumbai
I have been using these products for the last eight years and keep coming back again and again.
Atul John, Dastkar Nature Bazaar, Bangalore
We have used your apricot oil and have liked it a lot. Like the aroma and texture of the oil… feels
very appropriate for massage.
Shashi & Kartikeyan Ramamurthy, Bangalore
Message : Requesting to update on the address to get your products in Mumbai...all the products
used till date are just AMAZING!
[email protected]
Nature Shop
A small outlet housed in Aarohi's production unit at Peora, very close to its
headquarters, the Nature Shop brings high quality natural and handcrafted products
made in Kumaon to tourists and visitors in the area. Organizations that partner in
this venture include Panchachuli Women Weavers' Association, Almora; Mahila
Umang Samiti, Ranikhet; Avani, Berinag; Aepan, Bhimtal; Fruitage, Bhowali; Vastra
Kala Kendra, Satkhol, as well as produce of artisans in and around Dharchula.
Products displayed for sale include apricot and peach based body care products,
culinary herbs and herb teas, silk and wool handspun and hand woven natural dyed
shawls and scarves, thick all wool blankets (thulmas), mens' shawls (pankhis), hand
knitted sweaters and booties, jams, jellies, pickles and honey, rhododendron flower
squash, home made vinegar, paintings and articles with Aepan, the Kumaoni folk
art, and books.
24
Grameen Himalayan Haat
It was a privilege to have Her Excellency, Mrs. Margaret Alva,
Governor of Uttarakhand inaugurate the ninth annual 'Grameen
Himalayan Haat' held at Aarohi Bal Sansar sports ground at Naulikan on 8th October,
2009. An eagerly awaited yearly festival for the local farmers and their families, this
event has been gaining popularity year after year.
In her address to the people, the Governor highlighted the importance of such fairs
in providing a platform for commerce mixed with social and cultural exchange. She
encouraged youth to use their knowledge and skills for taking up challenges of
development in rural areas as an alternative to seeking jobs outside and migrating
from their region. A state rich in natural heritage, the youth can strive to make
Uttarakhand the number one state in the country. She appreciated the role of civil
society organizations in making women more aware and independent, and was happy
to see them leading their lives with confidence in spite of difficult circumstances
prevailing in these hills.
Products on display were locally produced handmade shawls, stoles and scarves,
hand knitted sweaters, caps and socks, pankhis, carpets and thulmas, quilts, honey,
jams and pickles, apricot and peach based body care products, herbs and spices,
candles, seeds and agricultural implements, iron ore cooking utensils, toys and electrical
goods, and articles with Aepan, the Kumaoni folk art. The 'pheriwalas, had their
corner selling old and new garments, bed linen, footwear, toys and cosmetics.
Cultural programs in the evening were crowd pullers as always, and professional
teams from different parts of Kumaon that presented their shows included Suyalghati
Choliya Dal, Bamanswal (Almora), Ma Barahi Sanskritik Dal (Haldwani), Naini
Mahila Vikas Sanskritik Manch (Nainital), Ujjwal Sanskritik Manch (Almora) and
Himalayan Jan Seva Samiti (Udham Singh Nagar). Children from Aarohi Bal Sansar
25
and surrounding government schools were the star attractions during daytime
entertainment.
Highlights of the fair:
Traditional folk dance of Kumaon known as Choliya Nritya (a martial arts display that
accompanies wedding processions - an art form which is slowly fading out)
Games and races for children and adults
Painting and Aepan art competitions
Soft toys making & mehndi application workshops by Jan Shikshan Sansthan
Interactive session on animal husbandry by experts from IVRI, Mukteshwar
A power point presentation on work carried out by Aarohi interspersed with song and
dances by children of Aarohi Bal Sansar
Particulars
07-08
08-09
09-10
35
41
45
No. of Organizations
6
7
10
No. of Entrepreneurs
26
34
22
3
0
15
10,000
15,000
16,000
2.08
2.46
2.30
27,637
40,962
53,908
Total no. of Stalls
No. of SHGs
Total Attendance (approx)
Total Sales (INR, lakhs)
Community Contributions (INR)
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
General Gurbir Mansingh Van Panchayat Award
The agriculture based economy of the mountains is heavily dependent on forests
for its energy in the form of fuel wood, fodder and also soil fertility by way of leaf
litter. People are dependent on timber from forests too.
26
The Van Panchayat (community forest) Award was started three years ago by Dr
Surjit Mansingh in memory of her brother General Gurbir Mansingh, to perpetuate
the debate on forest management within the mountain community and provide
inspiration towards developing good, community managed forests.
The award this year for the best managed forest was given to the village of Tanda.
Tanda Van Panchayat won the prize for good management practices, that have
shown results by way of creating an increase in vegetative cover and fauna in their
forest.
The process of participatory evaluation, the manner in which the award winner is
selected, was a good exercise, as usual. The main criteria for evaluation were best
practices of community forest management. Of a total ten villages eligible for the
award, eight responded for the competition. The village of Tanda was selected as
the winner (to get a cash award of INR 6,000) and Bhayalgoan as runner-up (to get
a cash award of INR 4,000).
Tanda village
Tanda vllage is situated at a height of 1500 metres above sea level. The village community
comprises mainly of subsistence farmers. Tanda was assisted by Aarohi with technical,
managerial and financial support for a period of ten years (1995 - 2005) for managing a 5
hectare community forest land. The community laid down rules of protecting the forest that
included social fencing and a complete ban on grazing. This along with plantation measures
has resulted in an increase in vegetative cover as well as wild life such as bear, monkeys,
barking deer and many species of birds that were not seen before. The community also has a
prescribed and organised system by which village people are able to collect dry wood and
leaf litter. The people of Tanda village have shown that once aware, it is possible for village
communities to realise their self interest and that they are best suited to protect and use their
forests.
27
TRAININGS AND EXPOSURE VISITS
Regular trainings and exposure visits have helped the Aarohi team to build
proficiency in their areas of work and interest. The team comprises mainly of local
people who have been gradually trained on the job to professionally manage diverse
functions.
This year the team participated in the following trainings and exposure visits:
TRAINING / EXPOSURE
DURATION
INSTITUTION / PLACE /
CONSULTANTS
PEOPLE
Rural Surgical
Conference
Nov 09
Rajasthan/ A.R.S.I.,
Piplia Kalaan
Dr Sushil Sharma
Prevention of domestic
violence and women's
rights
2-4 Feb 10
NIPCCID, Delhi
Anandi Arya
Clinical Training of
Trainers
20 Feb 7 Mar 10
Rural Medical Centre
Mehrauli Delhi
Anandi Arya, Pat
Farbrother, Neema Kabdwal
Exposure Visit
16-19 Mar 10
Foundation for Research
in Community Health/
Parinche, Pune
Dr. Rohit Nair
Women's rights
11-12 Mar 10
Nainital/ Vimarsh
Nain Singh, Munni Suyal
Making of a wood fired
heating oven
11-23 Mar 10
Vrads, Denmark
Dr. Sushil Sharma
General health and well
being, safe delivery, and
childhood illnesses to
advocacy trainings,
“Know Your Rights”.
12 sessions
through the
year
Aarohi office
Health workers, Traditional
Birth Attendants and Village
Health and Sanitation
Committees
3-5 May 2009
ABS Resource Centre
Room to Read scholars and
team
HEALTH
EDUCATION
Art and Craft Workshop
28
TRAINING / EXPOSURE
DURATION
INSTITUTION / PLACE /
CONSULTANTS
PEOPLE
Science Workshops
6 - 11 Apr, 2009
& 15 Oct 2009
ABS, Jayant Phalke and
Samar Bagchi
Students of class 6-8 and
teachers
Adventure Trek &
Exposure Visit
6-12 Jun 2009
Pindari Glacier
Yashpal, Sanjay, Pravendra,
Anand, Chandrakala and
4 youth
Counseling Workshop
22-23 Jun 2009
ABS, Shobha Bhowalkar
ABS teachers
Educational Tour
12-14 Sep 2009
Jageshwar
Students of class 5, ABS,
25 Room to Read scholars
and team
Educational Tour
25 Oct 2009
Koormanchal Academy
Almora
Students of class 6-7,
Pushpa, Bhuwan, Jaya,
Pradeep
Music Workshop
21 Oct - 11
Nov 2009
ABS, Salim
Students of class 7 & 8
English Refresher
Workshop
9 Nov 2009
Learning Inq, Delhi
Deep Chand
Resurgent Kumaoni
Culture-Fundraising
Events
21 Nov 2009
India Islamic Cultural
Centre, Delhi
Jingle Bell Academy,
Faizabad
Sahkarita Bhavan,
Lucknow
Event team and ABS
Children
28 Jan 2010
30 Jan 2010
Life Skills Workshop
25- 26 Nov 2009
Room to Read, Delhi
Pravendra & Chandrakala
Life Skills Workshop
7-8 Jan 2010
ABS Jaya Swaroop
& Girijesh
40 Room to Read scholars,
Pravendra, Chandrakala,
Hema
Educational Tour
19-21 Jan 2010
Avani, Berinag,
Pithoragarh
28 Room to Read scholars
and team
Teacher Training
26-29 Jan 2010
Jingle Bell School,
Faizabad
Deep Chand, Pushpa,
Govind Negi, Jyoti, Poonam
Computer Training
Mar 2010
ABS Resource Centre
14 Room to Read scholars
State Level Workshop
15 Mar 2010
Room to Read, Dehradun
Pravendra, Chandrakala,
Hema
29
ACCOUNTS & FINANCES
The following organizations contributed to Aarohi during the last financial year:
Partner Funding Organizations
Sector of Support
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai
Health
Aarohi Schweiz, Switzerland
Health & Education
Sisi Savita Charitable Trust, UK
Health
Montreal Westward Rotary Club, Canada
Health
Room to Read, New Delhi
Girls Scholarship
Kuesnacht, Switzerland
Education
Government Social Welfare Department, Nainital
Education
LIC of India, Faizabad
Education
SBI, Faizabad
Education
ICICI Bank, Faizabad
Education
Bank of Baroda, Faizabad
Education
Wild Venture, Delhi
Education
SBI, Almora
Grameen Himalayan Haat
Sharda & Bahuguna, Chartered Accountants, Haldwani
Grameen Himalayan Haat
mountain men absorbed in livelihood activity, as
depicted by writing on the wall
30
Summarised Financial Results for the year 2009-2010
PARTICULARS
2009 - 2010
2008-2009
634,977.60
812,596.00
2,251,239.50
2,253,071.00
35,721.00
180,884.04
Indian Institutions
7,850,150.00
2,088,000.00
Production Program
3,693,351.96
2,861,099.14
Donation, Interest, Misc, A A K, ABS & Aarohi (L)
3,522,145.61
1,426,284.03
17,352,608.07
8,809,338.21
1,622,755.00
1,355,097.00
Travel
314,864.00
281,734.50
Administrative
559,700.00
432,531.22
Health Program
1,427,729.00
1,129,369.00
Livelihood Promotion Program
2,301,989.44
2,023,667.25
174,111.00
163,620.44
Education Program
1,458,921.67
2,857,669.06
Total Expenditure
7,860,070.11
8,243,688.47
Unutilised Grant Carried Over
7,537,053.10
634,977.60
Excess Income over Expenditure
2,590,462.46
743,268.14
Unutilised grant B/F
GRANT AND INCOMES FOR THE YEAR
Foreign & International Organizations
Government - Central & State
Total Income
TOTAL EXPENDITURE DURING THE YEAR
Salary and Stipend
Community Organization Program
31
ABSTRACT OF BALANCE SHEET
LIABILITIES
Capital Fund
6,656,456.33
5,445,517.29
18,247,238.38
17,043,208.76
7,537,053.10
634,977.60
634,458.54
310,541.84
33,075,006.35
23,434,245.49
14,590,979.16
14,407,711.96
Fixed Deposits
7,100,041.00
1,926,866.00
Mutual Fund (SBI)
4,815,000.00
3,685,000.00
Current Assests, Loans & Advances
6,568,986.19
3,414,667.53
33,075,006.35
23,434,245.49
Reserve & Surplus
Unutilized Grant
Current Liabilities & Provisions
Total
ASSETS
Fixed Assets
Total
32
… from the heart
We extend our sincere thanks to all funders, government and institutional associates,
well wishers and friends, members and people of the region, Sharda and Bahuguna Associates
(auditors), and Consul Printers, Nainital, all of whose support gives us the inspiration and
guidance to continue our work.
Our special thanks are due to all those who shared their thoughts and time for being an
integral part of our work.
Thanks are due to Drs Raju & Smita Usgaocar, Dr S. K. Basu and the Rural Medicare
Centre team, Dr S.C. Pant, Dr Akhila Prasad, Drs. Sanjay & Pratibha Juyal, Rotary Club
Haldwani, Drs R.C. & Priti Pant and Dr R.V. Singh, Dr (Col) C. S. Pant, Dr Asif Kamal,
Dr Purnima Dhar, Dr Faisal Mumtaz, Dr Deepak and Dr Anita Rastogi, Dr Prachi, Dr
Satyendra, Dr Manoj Joshi, Dr Ruchikar Tripathi, Dr H.C. Pant for taking out time for
various surgical, eye, dental and diagnostic camps at the Aarohi hospital.
All these are extremely busy and highly successful practitioners. It is indeed a great privilege
to have such voluntary service for people of this area.
Special thanks are due to Dr (Col) C.S. Pant (Retd), for his untiring effort at raising finances
through his patients and associates. Col Pant has been nominated as the fundraiser for the
year. His consistent effort has paid rich dividends on a regular basis.
Our thanks to Dr D.S. Gharbiyal, CMO, Nainital for supporting the government camps for
Planned Parenthood as well as those for cataract surgery through the District Blindness
Control Society.
Our thanks to the commitment of all the Aarohi Schweiz members (Sarah, Corina, Philip,
Rahel, Panco, Bernadette and Reinhard, Robert and David) in actively spreading awareness
about the work of Aarohi, raising funds, motivating volunteers and for having organized a
highly successful fundraising presentation of Aarohi at the Reitberg Musem at Zurich; Dr
Johannes Beltz, Curator Indian Art, Reitberg Museum, Zurich for hosting the Aarohi
33
presentation at the Reitberg Museum. Aarohi is now listed on the official website of `60
years of Swiss - Indian friendship'.
Thanks are due to Meena Harisinghani for her guidance in teaching and development of
English language learning; Mohan Chandra Kabadwal, Manjula, Ram, Meeta, Meena, Maya,
Smriti for their guidance of the education program as active members of the Steering
Committee. Doris Shivpuri and Asha Sharma of Spic Macay, Kumaon Chapter, for bringing
a delightful kathak performance and flute recital to children of our region; to Jaya Swaroop
& Girijesh Srivastava from Faizabad for conducting life skills training for girls at Satoli;
Shweta Gopalachari for bringing the joy of toys to ABS children; Maya & Raghoo Sinha for
their continued association in guiding organizational processes; to Madhu Khati for giving
opportunity to children from ABS for further education at Koormanchal. Our thanks to
Vivek Shirali for giving an inspirational talk on life experiences and positive attitude to Aarohi
staff and Shraddha Shirali for conducting a soft toys making workshop.
Special thanks to Mrs. Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand for inaugurating the Gramin
Himalayan Haat; to Mr. P.D.Pandey, District Information Officer, Nainital and Balraj Negi,
Culture Department, Dehradun for cooperation in organizing cultural teams for the Haat; to
Mr. D.S. Negi, Administrative Officer, IVRI Mukteshwar for deputing veterinary doctors
for animal husbandry camps at Satoli; to Mr. M. C. Kandpal, SBI, Almora, Mr. S.S. Chauhan
and staff of Canara Bank, Almora, Mr. Mukul Chowdhary and staff of SBI, Mukteshwar
for their immense cooperation with all our banking needs.
For the fundraising events: thanks are due to Manjula, Anjali, Beena, A.K.Tiwari and their
entire team for the amazing organization and success at Faizabad; to Ashwani Kumar Gupta
and Umesh Shukla for successful organization at Lucknow; to Pradeep and Praveen Tripathi,
and Nishi and Praveen Tripathi for logistical and entertainment support, Joseph of Udipiwala,
Kathgodam and Dr. S.K. Basu, Delhi for sponsoring meals, Pankaj Wadhwa for organizing
transport for the children and Aarohi team and raising funds at Delhi; to Premila and Purnima
for being active fundraisers at Delhi and to Mohit for help from the Salaam Balak Trust and
Salim. A very special thanks to Prajakta who was associated with Aarohi as a teacher and
coordinator for all the processes she has helped to put in place in the school, and for her
joie de vivre that helped to get our students to perform to perfection during the events.
34
Thanks are due to our volunteers and interns for the year:
Henriette Moneger for the enthusiasm she brought to English teaching at Aarohi Bal Sansar;
Jayant Phalke from Pune and Samar Bagchi from Kolkata for their inspiring ways in teaching
difficult scientific concepts.
Dr Anjali Niyogi from Tulane University, USA for conducting a nutrition survey as well as
developing protocols for managing malnutrition and other medical ailments; Priya Bhattacharji,
from Ahmedabad, for assisting with the evaluation of our education project; Simon and
Sheena from Australia who worked on wood stove design as well as nutrition monitoring
systems; Janhavi and Akhila from Pune for demonstrating Oddisi dance and teaching us to
have fun with beads; Sameer from IUCAA , Pune, who showed children the wonders of
Astronomy; Dr. Jeevan and Dr. Manika from TISS Mumbai, who refined training manuals
for health workers and TBAs, evaluated the health management information system and
designed a baseline survey questionnaire as well as sourced current government health schemes;
Waqas Kidwai from G B Pant Institute of Social Sciences, Allahabad for his inputs in the
livelihoods promotion program; Meenakshi Banerjee and Priyanka Singh, graduate students
from Delhi sponsored by iVolunteer, who investigated happiness in village women; Mihika
Mirchandani and Divya Bijlani, students of Mass Media, KC College Mumbai, for their
inputs in film making, photography, design and advertisement and Divya specially for designing
the cover of the Annual Review for two years in succession; Shilpi Gupta, engineering graduate
through I-Volunteer, for her study of wood stove design; to Anjali and Priti for their critical
editing of this issue.
Our deepest thanks to thousands of people of the region who have been friends, partners
and fellow travelers on the road to development.
It is the concern and support of these and so many more that gives us the strength and
constant inspiration to carry on.
Dr. Sushil Sharma
Chairman, Aarohi
18 May, 2010
35
Experiences and Letters
Laura Hermione Bolton nee Lockwood.
in memorium
12.02.1963 - 30.05.2009
Dear All
Once again, many apologies for using dreaded email to pass on such bad news, but I am
sorry to say that at 1pm yesterday, Saturday 30th May, Laura quietly passed away in the ICU
unit at Morriston Hospital, Swansea.
The end was rather unexpected, but painless and quick. After a month in a deep coma,
having suffered major cerebral damage as a result of the original illness, she was at least able
to pass away in a quiet and dignified manner.
If you want to call, email, visit - then please do. Please also feel free to pass on the news to
anyone who you feel needs to know. Details of remembrance activities will follow.
Her life was short, and you may feel angry that it is has been ended far too early, but I prefer
to think that I was lucky to have known her for the short time I did. She died a happy woman,
and left good memories to a huge number of people across the world.
All my love
Keith
3 June 2009
Dear Keith,
We are all saddened to hear of Laura's passing away. I suppose that was what the Good Lord
willed. Laura was a dear friend of Oona from her days at Sussex. Laura kept in touch with me
even after Oona's untimely demise in 1996, and had made two visits to our village headquarters
in Satoli since then. She followed the developments of Aarohi with keen interest and had been
an active fundraiser for the organization in its early years. I particularly miss her detailed and
humorous handwritten letters from Japan. Laura also was the godmother of our son Vairag,
who is now almost ten. Seema, my wife and I, and all members of Aarohi join me in sending
prayers for the departed soul and wish her peace and love, and by our belief system, happy
beginnings, where ever she may be. May she forever spread happiness and strength. Our
prayers for you too Keith for strength and understanding at this difficult hour of bereavement.
God Bless
Sushil
10 June 2009
36
37
I have a passion for teaching Science
In the summer of 2009 I had the opportunity to visit the Kumaon hills and spend a week at
Aarohi. My business here was to conduct a five day Science teaching workshop involving the
children of classes 6 to 8 and teachers at Aarohi Bal Sansar. The topics covered were from the
text books but an attempt was made to induce the students to bring their thinking process to bear
upon subjects like matter and its transformation, laws of mechanics, forms of energy, light, electricity
and magnetism, atomic structure and chemical reactions. While these topics were covered in
morning sessions with students, an afternoon session with the teachers was devoted to answering
their questions on concepts, methodology and demonstration. On the whole the workshop was
very satisfactory.
Aarohi School with its attitude to promote excellence in education is a boon to local school
children. I am happy that I could help in this in my modest way.
While I was at Satoli I observed that Aarohi staff and volunteers are a very busy and active group.
At the community kitchen you have an opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with people
engaged in diversified activities. I visited the production unit and learnt about cold press oil
extraction, and found that quality control, packing and marketing were excellent. I was impressed
to see how this activity was promoting local produce and providing employment to people.
I enjoyed my stay at the Dak Bungalow with Shubha and Pradeep. A visitor is an outsider. This
visit gave me a chance to mix with local children and people as one of them. I am grateful to
Ram Vaidya of Johnson & Johnson for sending me here and also sponsoring the cost of this trip.
Jayant Phalke, Educator, Vigyanvahini, Pune
Experience with Aarohi
I worked with Aarohi as a student intern during Sep-Oct 2009. It was at Aarohi that I came across
the practical nuances of community health for the first time. The things I have learned from Aarohi
go beyond the purview of any book. I was pleasantly surprised to see the way the organization has
managed to connect with the community that they serve. The respect and trust the workers get
from the community was unparallelled. My experience with Aarohi has taught me the importance
of the community, it has made me realize the essence of community participation and the power it
38
has. It was an enriching experience to see how the organization has integrated various services to
help people in the underserved area of Nainital.
I am grateful to Dr. Sushil Sharma to give us such an opportunity to learn. The internship exposed
me to various on field situations and difficulties that are faced in such great endeavors and has
provided me with hands on experience in dealing with them.
I cannot thank Anandiji, Champaji and Munniji enough for the community visits that they organized
for us in the villages of Sonarkhola and Bhayalgaon. In the end I would just like to mention the
support and guidance provided by Dr. Rohit Nair which was instrumental in making the internship
one of the most enriching experiences in my life. I am also very thankful to Prajakta for being so
helpful. For me Aarohi brings to life the following words by Robert Frost:
"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I- I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Dr Manika Sharma
School of Health System Studies
TISS, Mumbai
Fund raising for Aarohi Bal Sansar
…It was out of sheer coincidence that each performer got their moment of glory when the spotlight
was on them alone, capturing the audiences. The dancers' charming and innocent movements
strung together by contagious tunes and the soul shaking story of Gopuli entranced the crowd.
The children showed their heritage proudly in a head to toe made over persona…from the simple
village child to a glamorous superstar. The music and pictures stirred emotions wildly as the
spectators traveled a lifetime besides Gopuli.
The chaos of the preparation, the trance like state after the deafening applause and appreciation
will echo in the heads and hearts of all those who witnessed the euphoria on-stage.
39
There was a change visible to those who had seen the children before. Confident, yet soft spoken,
there was a vibrancy that ran through all of them, a string that made them a troop.
Neema, inherently shy, was composed and sang freely… becoming a new woman altogether.
Chandrakala, a choreographer, gave grace and an element of fun and frankness to the children.
Anand was the sole support back stage, calm and promptly there to spark up the kids. Sushil and
Rohit had the sequence of the presentation and dialogue so well rehearsed, it seemed to be knit
together.
The planning and coordination team made the travel, the stay and the show like a fast paced,
super hit dance number as well. Leaves me breathless just thinking about it!
These series of events and the exposures have changed these individuals' lives. Hope the experience
provides an all encompassing platform for them to set out ahead and upwards..!
Prajakta, teacher, singer and coordinator of programs at ABS
until the load gets of her back...
40
appendices
Founder members
Pratap Bhaiya (Advocate)
Chief Patron
Late Ms. Oona Sharma
Secretary till 28.8.96
Dr. Sushil Sharma
Chairman
Mr. V.B.Eswaran ( Retd). Secretary, Finance Ministry
Founder Member
Late Lt. Gen. Gurbir Mansingh
Founder Member
Mr. Mohit Satyanand
Founder Member
Late Dr. Ajay Dhar
Founder Member
Managing Committee
Pratap Bhaiya (Advocate)
Chief Patron
Dr. Sushil Sharma (Anesthesiologist)
Chairman
Pradeep Gupta (Secretary, Aarohi)
Ex-officio member
Jagdish Nayal (Lab Technician, Chatola)
Treasurer
Mr. Vivekanand Dhondiyal, IAS (Retd)
Member
Dr. J.S.Mehta (Ex Silviculturist, Nainital)
Member
Sri B D Kharkwal, IPS (Retd), Formerly DGP, Assam
Member
Mr. Peter Chowfin (Director, SOTEC, Bareilly)
Member
Manjula Jhunjunwala, Educationist
Member
41
Life Members
Dr. Sushil Sharma
Satoli
Ms. Munni Kabdal
Satoli
Ms. Niharika Puri
Satoli
Mr. Vikram Maira
Sitla
Mr. Pradeep Gupta
Satkhol
Mrs. Shubha Gupta
Satkhol
Ms. Anandi Arya
Mukteshwar
Mr. Kunwar Singh Negi
Nathuakhan
Ms. Kiran Singh
Nathuakhan
Ms. Julia Singh
Nathuakhan
Dr. J.S. Mehta
Almora
Mr. V.S. Dhondiyal
Nainital
Mr. Jagdish Bhandari
Nainital
Mr. Diwan Singh Bisht
Nainital
Mr. Praveen Sharma
Nainital
Mr. Kalyan Paul
Ranikhet
Mrs. Anita Paul
Ranikhet
Mr. B.D. Kharkwal
Haldwani
Mr. Peter Chowfin
Bareilly
Mr. Iqbal Husain Khan
Faizabad
Mr. Arjan Brijnath
USA
Mrs. Diljit Brijnath
Dehradun
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Bohra
Dehradun
Mr. V.B. Eswaran
Delhi
Dr. Surjit Mansingh
Delhi
Mrs. Jasleen Dhamija
Delhi
Mrs.Sukhada Gupta
Delhi
Air Vice Marshal V.B. Batra (Retd)Delhi
Lt. Col. Rajat Chatterjee (Retd)
Delhi
Mrs. Neelakshi Chatterjee
Delhi
Col. Sudhir Tripathi
Delhi
Mrs. Vijaylakshmi Baig
Delhi
Mr. Ranjit Dhillon
Delhi
Mr. Ibadat Singh Dhillon
Delhi
Mr. Sanjeev Saith
Delhi
Mrs. Laxmi Ahuja
Delhi
Mr. Aditya Ahuja
Mr. Rajesh Thadani
Ms. Anuradha Sharma
Mr. Peter Laughton
Mr. Subodh Kumar Saigal
Mrs. Purnima Saigal
Ms. Aishwarya Saigal
Ms. Aparajita Saigal
Mrs. Smiriti Sharma
Dr. Puneet Singh
Mr. Vishal Bhandari
Mrs. Shanta Devi Sharma
Ms. Juhi Harisinghani
Mrs. Meena Harisinghani
Mr. Ajit Harisinghani
Mr. Anand Vinze
Mrs. Jayashree Vinze
Mrs. Pilloo Framjee
Mrs. Geeta Billimoria
Mr. Shirish Kulkarni
Mrs. Raj Arora
Dr. Kumar Vishwanath
Mrs. Radha Vishwanath
Mrs. Usha Deo
Mr. Vikas Deo
Mr. Deepak Deo
Brig. Vivek Sapatnekar (Retd)
Mrs. Neela Sapatnekar
Dr. Ashok Agarwal
Mrs. Kalpana Ghai
Mr. Subhash Puri
Mrs. Meera Gurubaxani
Mrs. Arti Gurbaxani
Mr. H. Gurbaxani
Mr. Avinash Gurbaxani
Mr. Kaushik Chatterjee
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Pune
Jaipur
Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
42
Mrs. Suchishree Chatterjee
Mr. Kurush Pavri
Dr. Amrish Vaidya
Mr. Mahesh Natekar
Mr. V. Venkat Rao
Ms. Priti Rao
Mr. Ram Vaidya
Mr. Suresh Bhapkar
Ms. Rashmi Birmani
Mr. Sanjay Deshpande
Mr. Peter Furst
Mrs. Maureen Furst
Dr. Ravi Chandra
Mrs. Manorama Gupta
Mrs. Manju Gupta
Mr. Aashish Chaudhary
Mr. Arun Kumar Gupta
Ms. Nicole Kilborn
Mr. Tim Winton
Ms. Marissa Howard
Ms. Helen Peters
Mr. Arjun M. Hiemsath
Mr. Kabir M. Hiemsath
Ms. Aparajita Singh Breur
Mr. David McMinn
Mr.Vijay Kumar
Mrs. Margaret Kumar
Ms. Pilar Palacia
Dr. Sarah Marti
Dr. Corina Wild
Ms. Jaqueline Lane
Ms. Robyn Davidson
Mr.Leeds
Mrs. Fiona Mohan
Mr. Barrows
Mr. Charles Dobbin
Ms.Hazel Jackson
Ms. Gill Smith
Ms. Liz Roberts
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai
Nagpur
Nagpur
Nagpur
Shillong
Shillong
Nagpur
Noida
Noida
Meerut
Noida
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Canada
Germany
Germany
Italy
Switzerland
Switzerland
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K
Mr. Kenneth Robbie
Ms. Jodie Giles
Ms. Lucy Lloyd Price
Mr. Barry Morley
Mr. Richard Chamberlin
Dr. Michael Priest
Mr. Russell Scott
Mr. Nigel Ried
Dr. Thomas Breur
Ms. Nimmi Harisinghani
Mr. Aloke Mansingh
Mrs. Yasmir Bisal
Ms. Maya Mansingh
Dr. Sandeep Gupta
Ms. Fatima Gupta
Mr. Romi Sahai
Mr. Abhinav Saigal
Dr. Seemin Qayum
Mr. Sinclair Thomson
Dr. Sanjeev Arora
Dr. Madhu Arora
Ms. Anita Arora
Ms. Sarah Arora
Ms. Siddhi Gupta
Mr. Joshua Kearns
Dr. Anjali Niyogi
Mr.Patrick Staiger
U.K
U.K
U.K
U.K
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
U.K.
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Members joined this year
Mrs. Manjula Jhunjhunwala
Dr. Kusum Jasuja
Dr. Rohit Radhakrishan Nair
Mr. Gopal Negi
Dr. Bharaj Lal
Ms. Shweta Gopalachari
Dr. Vineeth
Dr. Subhashini
Ms.Medha
Faizabad
Faizabad
Goa
Kaphura
Maharajganj
Mumbai
USA
USA
USA
43
Institutional Members
Aarohi Arogya Kendra
Satoli
Oona Mahila Bachat Yojna
Suralgaon
Gram Vikas Samiti
Satoli
Ambedkar Vikas Samiti
Harinagar
Gram Vikas Samiti
Kool
Karigari Samiti
Chopra
Gram Vikas Samiti
Talla Mona
Adarsh Vikas Samiti
Chopra
Gram Vikas Samiti
Malla Mona
Pragati Vikas Samiti
Quarab
Navjyoti Vikas Samiti
Birkhan
Gram Vikas Samiti
Dhatwalgaon
Village Water & Sanitation
Committee
Gram Vikas Samiti
Suyalgarh
Van Panchayat
Parvara
Gargari Malli
Ordinary Members
Munni Suyal
Sunder Lal
Anandi Arya
Jagdish Nayal
Basant Thapa
Janki Thapa
Deepak Nayal
Prakash Pandey
Chandrakala Bisht
Yashpal Arya
Tara Dutt Kabdwal
Bhuwan Suneri
Chandra Negi
Puran Nayal
Pramod Bisht
Devendra Sharma
Pat Farbrother
Ravindra Kabdwal
Harish Chandra
Bishan Singh Bisht
Meenakshi
Satoli
Chatola
Mukteshwar
Chatola
Satkhol
Satkhol
Chatola
Satkhol
Nainital
Satkhol
Satoli
Deari
Suralgaon
Satkhol
Chatola
Simayal
England
Satoli
Deari
Peora
Orakhan
Anand Singh Bisht
Sanjay Bisht
Sunder Negi
Mohini Bisht
Meena Dani
Chandra Bisht
Laxmikant
Diwan Singh Bisht
Divya
Meenakshi
Priyanka
Indu
Sushila Bisht
Jaya Bisht
Pushpa Bisht
Janki Suyal
Pushpa Devi
Gangotri Negi
Gopal Negi
Hema Devi
Radhika Devi
Peora
Satkhol
Nigrar
Meora
Matiali
Nathuwakhan Tanda
Chatola
Nainital
Mumbai
Delhi
Delhi
Bhowali
Nainital
Peora
Peora
Suyalgarh
Matiali
Kaphura
Kaphura
Chatola
Chatola
44
Govind Ram
Devendra Bisht
Tikam Singh Bisht
Pankaj Bisht
Prakash Kabdwal
Ghanshyam Suyal
Kailash Ram
Brijmohan
Henriette Moneger
Mihika Mirchandani
Bhagwati Bisht
Kamla Leishali
Bimla Bisht
Chandra Kabdwal
Khashti Devi
Harendra Singh Negi
Jagat Singh Bisht
Trilok Singh Bisht
Neema Devi
Janki Devi
Durga Devi
Leela Devi
Dikar Singh Negi
Godhan Singh Bisht
Puran Chandra
Pushpa Devi
Geeta Devi
Deepa Devi
Anita Bisht
Bhagwati Bisht
Parul
Diwan
Nandan Singh
Jeevan Singh
Vidhya Bhushan Batra
Sharda Devi
Krishan Chandra
Chatola
Peora
Satkhol
Kaphura
Satoli
Satoli
Chatola
Satoli
France
Mumbai
Satkhol
Haldwani
Peora
Satoli
Peora
Kaphura
Peora
Peora
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Kaphura
Kaphura
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Satkhol
Peora
Peora
Bhowali
Satkhol
Peora
Mohan Kabdwal
Devi Dutt Kabdwal
Kuber Singh
Hema Ghutholia
Puran Singh
Meena Devi
Dan Singh
Dhana Devi
Janki Phartiyal
Santosh Phartiyal
Govindi Bisht
Tulsi Devi
Krishan Chandra Bhandari
Trilok Chandra Dumka
Puran Chandra Kabdwal
Bishan Singh
Dr. Amarjit
Vandana
Anand Singh Mehra
Puran Singh Bisht
Khim Singh
Sunanda
Pranav
Parth
Shubham Mehra
Anjali Mehra
Bhim Singh Negi
Singh Bahadur
Yogesh Kabdwal
Chandra Prakash
Devki Bisht
Laxman Singh
Mamta Dumka
Kanika Satyanand
Pratap Bhaiya
Vivekanand Dhondiyal
Dr. J. S. Mehta
Satoli
Satoli
Peora
Chatola
Deari
Lueshal
Gaj
Satkhol
Malli Sinoli
Malli Sinoli
Peora
Bhayalgaon
Kaphura
Dol
Satkhol
Peora
Satkhol
Satkhol
Quarab
Peora
Peora
Peora
Peora
Peora
Delhi
Delhi
Jajar
Sitla
Satoli
Satoli
Peora
Satoli
Dol
Delhi
Nainital
Nainital
Almora
45
Aarohi's Village Partners
Village
Bhayalgaon
Chatola
Deari
Lueshal
Matiali
Paiyyakholi
Peora
Sangila
Satkhol
Sirmoli
Sonarkhola
Supi
Jhuni
Khaljhuni
Gwara
Wachham
Khati
Jatoli
Karayal
Bhadrkot
Hairakhan, Aezer
Okhalkanda Talla
Tanda
Rekhakot
Khansyu Bazaar, Village
Galni, Galni Jamni
Chamoli, Chamoli Kitora
Kalaagar
Querala Talla, Malla
Gargari Malli
Gargari Talli
Sirayal
Saal
Jhargaon Talla
Jhargaon Malla
Dankanya
No. of households
92
119
69
61
42
17
98
15
130
24
22
1000
150
54
50
1200
62
18
40
89
84
114
87
69
98
140
165
218
160
68
189
97
89
68
48
Programs currently running
Health, Livelihood
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education
Health, Education, Livelihood
Health, Education
Health, Education
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Education
46
Village
Kaphura
Kumati
Chapar
Mona Malla
Mona Talla
Sinoli Malli
Sinoli Talli
Satoli
Simayil
Soon
Jajar
Deodar
Chopra
Kool
Harinagar
Kherda
Parvara
Quarab
Suyalgarh
Meora
Orakhan
Simayil Rekhol
Satbhunga
Budibana
Sundarkhal
Sunkhiya
Chaukhuta
Dhanachuli
Aksoda
Nathuakhan
Suralgaon
Birkhan
Nigrar
Dol
Darima
Jaurasi
Bhatkot
Ramgarh
No. of households
68
47
45
62
52
28
29
51
47
48
35
21
74
85
85
80
176
93
25
78
35
115
115
45
90
65
84
43
34
247
50
16
33
8
275
58
21
23
Programs currently running
Education, Livelihood
Education
Education
Education, Livelihood
Education
Education
Education
Education, Livelihood
Education, Livelihood
Education, Livelihood
Education
Education
Livelihood
Education
Livelihood
Livelihood, Education
Livelihood
Education
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
Livelihood
47
Contributions for the Year
Maya & Raghoo Sinha
Sunil & Amrita Sawhney
P. K. Bansal
Doris & P. N. Shivpuri
Achla Sawhney
Ajit Kanitkar
Akash Nath
Annie Thomas
Arindam Basu
B.P. Singh
Bala Devan Rangraju
Baljit K. Jain
CJI Porcelain Pvt. Ltd
Dhun A. Seth
Divya Basu
Dr. (Col.) C. S. Pant
Dr. Akhila Prasad
Dr. Arvind Kishore
Dr. Bharminder Kaur
Dr. Geeta Pant
Dr. Gopal
Dr. Madhu Grover
Dr. Meera Kharbanda
Dr. P. S. Toor
Dr. Pant C/o Dr. (Col.) C. S. Pant
Dr. Purnima Dhar
Dr. S. K. Basu
Dr. Shubhash Chawla
Dr. Sonia Sofia
Dr. V. Bhatnagar
Dr. Vanmala Basu
Dr. Vineet & Dr. Subhashini
Gautam & Harshita Gupta
Harvard India Society
Jaya Bajaj
Jaya Jaitley
K. Mohan
Kanika Satyanand
Allahabad
Allahabad
Ahmedabad
Bhimtal
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
100,000
5,000
1,000
1,001
10,000
10,000
4,000
8,000
6,000
2,500
2,500
1,000
25,000
5,000
6,000
23,600
5,000
5,000
5,000
50,000
2,000
1,100
5,000
3,000
5,000
25,000
6,000
5,000
12,000
5,000
6,000
3,500
11,000
11,000
10,000
10,000
5,100
3,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
48
Contributions for the Year
Kunaal F. Mullick
M. L. Dewan
Mala Krishna
Maya Dehran
Meera M. Menezes
Nayantara Nair
Niharika Puri
Niraja Pant
Om Wadhwa
Pankaj Wadhwa
Parth Shah
Premila Nazareth Satyanand
Pushpa Paul
Rahul Kapoor
Reshma Bakshi
Salman Haidar
Saral S. Tandon
Shagun Chaudhary
Shweta Agarwal
Smriti Sharma
Sushila Gupta
Swati Kapoor
Swati Ray
T. R. Ramakrishna
V.B. Eswaran
Vasu Padmnabhan
Viti Bhandari
Eliene
Elizabeth
A.K. Tiwari
A.K.Singh
A.P. Kalra
Ajay Dhawan
Alka Pandey
Alka Shekhar
Alka Varma
Alok Agarwal
lok Bansal
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
1,000
1,000
11,000
3,000
5,000
200
551
1,100
20,000
9,000
5,000
25,000
10,000
4,000
1,000
10,000
200,000
1,00,000
500
5,000
1,000
10,000
100
5,000
1,000
10,001
10,000
300
150
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,000
1,100
500
5,000
2,500
2,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
49
Contributions for the Year
Alp Softech
Amit Kedia
Anil Agarwal
Anil Makheja
Anjali
Ankit Arora
Annu Agarwal
Anuja Srivastava
Anurag Tandon
Anurag Vaish
Arvind Kumar Agarwal
Arvind Kumar Mishra
Ashish Agarwal
Atul Chaurasia
Babita Sawhney
Beena Agarwal
Bharat Bhushan
Chandra Shekhar Verma
Deepak Sawlani
Deepak Sharma
Deepali Gambhir
Dheeraj Rawlani
Dhruv Balai Paul
Dr. Alka Mishra
Dr. Mahesh Surtani
Dr. Virendra Singh
Feroz Akhtar
Gaurav Chopra
Girdhari Chawla
Gulzar Sahitya Society
Guru Saran Kaur
JBNTT Students
Jingle Bell School Teachers
Kavita Singh
Kumud Srivastava
Laxman Das
M.M.Pandey
Madhav Maurya
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
1,000
2,100
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,100
5,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
1,100
1,000
2,100
500
1,000
1,000
5,000
500
2,000
1,000
1,100
1,000
5,000
500
2,000
1,100
500
500
1,000
2,000
1,000
3,200
1,800
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
50
Contributions for the Year
Mahima Poddar
Manjula Jhunjhunwala
Manoj Kumar Singh
Meera Chandra
Mitali Sood
Mukesh Tolani
Narendra Kapoor
Nirankar Singh
P. K. Saxena
Parul Agarwal
Pawan Jeevani
Pratipal Singh
Praveen Singh
Priya Battery
Priyanka Agarwal
Priyanshi Singh
R.B. Thakur
Raj Kumar Khattry
Rajesh Makheja
Rajesh Rastogi
Rajnish Agarwal
Rakesh Ladhani
Ram Avtar
Ramesh Kumar Gupta
Rekha Singh
Rita Banerjee
Romi Kapoor
Saket Polly Pipes
Sanjai Rastogi
Sanjay Madan
Sanjay Sawlani
Santosh Kumar Dwivedi
Sarveswar Uppal
Saumya Agarwal
Seema Kalra
Shankar Ahuja
Shivangi Pathak
Shrichand Rastogi
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
500
10,000
1,000
2,500
5,000
500
5,000
5,000
1,000
1,000
7,000
1,000
1,100
1,001
2,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,100
1,000
1,000
10,000
500
501
2,000
3,500
1,100
1,100
2,100
1,500
2,500
1,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
500
1,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
51
Contributions for the Year
Staff & Students - Yash Vidya Mandir
Staff & Students Jingle Bell Academy
Sudha Mishra
Sudha Singh
Sushma Dhir
Swati Mohan
Udyachal Dwivedi
Umesh Sharma
V. D. Sibbal
V.K. Joshi
Ved Krishna
Veena Khattri
Vikki Mansani
Nirmesh Bagadwal
B. Jaishankar
Gita Garg
Neeraja Joshi
Max & Suzanne Singer
Ashwani Kumar Gupta
Aditya Kumar & Dr. Sangeeta Kumar
AKG Consultants Ltd.
Anuja Kumari
Ashok Bansal
Ashok Kumar
AVM Dr. Ashok Chaturvedi (Retd)
Basant Chaudhary
Dr. Sandeep Kumar
Fazal Ahmed Khan
K. S. Luthra
Kushagra and Dev Bajpai
Kusum Seth
Mani Awasthi
Mani Capitals Ltd.
N. R. Srinivasan
Rabab & Meena
Radha Raman Agarwal
Rajeev Tingal
Rajesh Kumar Seth
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Faizabad
Ghaziabad
Gurgaon
Hapur
Gurgaon
Israel
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
1,700
11,470
100
2,100
1,000
2,500
1,500
1,100
1,000
1,000
21,000
1,000
2,000
1,500
5,000
1,000
20,000
7,766
11,000
5,000
25,000
1,000
5,100
5,000
1,000
10,000
11,000
500
500
2,000
1,001
1,000
25,000
1,050
300
2,100
1,000
1,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
52
Contributions for the Year
Rashid Ahmed Khan
Srawan Kumar Shukla
Sudhir Jain
Tanuj Kohli
Umesh Shukla
Vibha Awasthi
Yashastilak
Girija Rao
Manju Gupta
Manorama Gupta
Pramod Jain
Rajeev & Sumita Singh
Sujata & Ratandeep Gupta
Nimmi Harisinghani
Meena Harisinghani
Shanta Devi Sharma
Pradeep & Shubha Gupta
Veronika
Dr. Sushil & Seema Sharma
Dr. Corina Wild
Urs - In. Gold
Students of University of Washington
Michael & Fiona Cardillo
Rajesh Arora
Simon, Sheena & Friends
Sharda Ayyerswamy
Sukanya Badhwar
Anju Yadav
Dr. Neena Bajaj
Dr. Rajesh Tope
Dr. V. Muralidhar
Dr. Vikram Mahajan
Dr. Yatinder Kharbanda
Col. G. P. Shrivastava (Retd)
J.L.B. Fund
N.R. Shrinivasan
Neelam Kundra
Radhika Singh
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow
Mumbai
NOIDA (UP)
NOIDA (UP)
NOIDA (UP)
NOIDA (UP)
NOIDA (UP)
Pune
Pune
Pune
Satkhol
(SRCM) Satkhol
Satoli
Switzerland
Switzerland
USA
Australia
Australia
Australia
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
2,100
5,000
1,100
5,000
1,100
1,000
1,000
5,000
250
6,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
100,000
22,500
5,000
10,000
100
5,000
2,500
30,922
7,200
4,000
5,000
6,000
1,000
5,000
10,000
1,000
10,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
1,000
20,000
100
2,000
2,000
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
53
Contributions for the Year
Rahul Joshi
Sandeep Singh Sandhar
Saral S. Tandon
Sonali Agarwal
Swati Roy
Ashwani Usgaocar
Dr. Smita Usgaocar
B. Jaishankar
Dr. Bharti Minocha
Nirmala Kapadia
Raj Arora
D. S. Negi
Harendra Singh Negi
Padma Arya
Pramod Sharma
Rajendra Singh Mehra
V.N. Dhondiyal
Mahendra Singh Bisht
Tikam Singh Bisht
Chandra Devi Kabadwal
Devi Dutt Kabadwal
Dan Singh Bhandari
Ravi Rawat
Kishan Singh Negi
Akbar Mirza Khaleeli
B.P. Singh
Arjan M. Hiemsath
Shantarani & Kamalnath Monga
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Goa
Goa
Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Pune
Pune
IVRI Mukteshwar
Kaphura
Deari
Mona
Mona
Nainital
Ranikhet
Satkhol
Satoli
Satoli
Sirmoli
Uttarakashi
Nigrar
Bangalore
Delhi
USA
Delhi
3,000
3,000
1,000
5,000
100
10,000
15,000
5,000
5,000
3,000
500
250
100
1,001
551
551
1,000
100
1,001
101
125
5,000
1,000
105
20,000
25,000
4,120
1,500
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Health
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Haat
Forest Management
Forest Management
Forest Management
Development
Dr. Anjali Niyogi
U.S.A. Defibrillator, Syringe pump, Hospital
materials and equipments, ENT Head
lamp and Instruments
Col (Dr) C. S. Pant (Retd)
Delhi
Developer Processor
Dr. Anil Kohli
Delhi
Dental X-Ray Machine, Dental chair
Johnson & Johnson
Mumbai
Infusion Pumps, Deep freeze
54
Join us…
In eighteen years, since its inception, Aarohi has reached out to thousands of people in the
remote mountains of Uttarakhand, to see that children and mothers don't die needlessly; that they
are not subjected to diseases of poverty and ignorance, and that people are not denied the
opportunity to keep pace with development in the country.
All this would not have been possible without hundreds of people from the region and all over the
world contributing their time, skills, ideas, physical labour and finances.
Join this family of caring people…
give us your time
Volunteer professionally. We need doctors (general physicians and specialists), community health
managers, nurses, physiotherapists, teachers, art & craft and theatre persons, sports people,
musicians, rural development professionals, administrators, managers and marketing persons.
work with us
All rural areas need dedicated, professional individuals to bring about change. Take up this
challenge. You will be working towards greater equity in society while experiencing a different way
of being and living.
contribute financially
to create world class health and education facilities in remote villages.
spread the word
Help connect with like-minded individuals and build a larger community of people committed to
development of rural mountain folk.
`You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly
give…therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.’
Kahlil Gibran
55
at a glance
2008
2009
136
147
Institutional members
15
15
Ordinary members
71
116
Villages covered
65
79
Households covered
4,378
7,632
Population benefited
26,268
46,000
0.7
1.54
Life members
Individual contributions (INR millions)
Aarohi is a not for profit Society
registered under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860, under
Section 6(1) of the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act,
1976, and under Section 80G and
12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
All contributions to Aarohi are exempt from Income Tax under Section 80 G of the IT Act.
Contributions may be made in the name of Aarohi, through direct bank transfer (NEFT), a Demand Draft or
Cheque. For out of country contributions please use the Swift Transfer facility.
56
aarohi
natural products
NATURAL COSMETICS
OIL OF APRICOT
HERBS
PRICE
(INR)
PACK
SIZE
PRICE
(INR)
50 ml
105
ROSEMARY 15 g
85
100 ml
185
OREGANO 15g
85
200 ml
315
THYME 15 g
85
JUMBOO 15 g
85
BASIL 15 g
85
SAGE 15 g
85
500 ml
700
50 g
60
100 g
100
TARRAGON 15 g
85
OIL OF PEACH
100 ml
325
CARAWAY 15 g
85
PEACH SCRUB
100 g
175
MINT 15 g
75
70 g
45
PARELEY 15 g
75
35 g
25
APRICOT SCRUB
APRICOT SCRUB SOAP
GIFT PACK
250
For bulk as well as retail orders
e-mail : [email protected]
or call +91 97586 25455 Office
+91 94129 91916 Deepak
+91 94111 94604 Basant
MIXED HERBS 15 g
105
GIFT SET OF 3 HERBS
240
GIFT SET OF 5 HERBS
375
PEPPERMINT TEA (10 bags)
85
CHAMOMILE TEA (10 bags)
85
FRAGRANCE OF ROOT
POT-POURRI
75
GERANIUM SATCHET
20
57
Front Cover
Sunrise on Maiktoli (6804 m) taken from Sunderdhunga
Back cover
Young girl from village Supi
Back inside cover (from top left, clockwise)
Independence day celebration at Aarohi Bal Sansar
Smt. Margaret Alva, Governor, Uttarakhand inaugurating the Haat
A woman at village Jatoli coming home with load of dry leaves
Outreach mobile camp at the village of Waccham
Consul Printers, Nainital
58